Víctor Galíndez

Víctor Emilio Galíndez (2 November 1948 – 25 October 1980) was an Argentine boxer who was the third Latin American to win the world Light Heavyweight championship, after Puerto Rico's José Torres and Venezuela's Vicente Rondon.

Galíndez was born in Vedia in the Leandro N. Alem Partido of the Buenos Aires Province in Argentina in 1948. He aspired to become both a boxer and a stock car pilot since an early age, but he was more interested in boxing. As an amateur, he compiled a winning record and participated in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where he lost in a preliminary round bout to Aldo Bentini of Italy. A year earlier he claimed the silver medal at the 1967 Pan American Games.

Galíndez then turned professional, and on 10 May 1969, he debuted as a paid fighter with a win over Ramon Ruiz by a knockout in four at Buenos Aires. After one more win, he faced Adolfo Cejas in Azul, Argentina, in a fight which resulted in a ten-round draw.

In 1970, Galíndez had 10 fights, a span during which he went 5-3-1, with one no contest. He suffered his first loss, at the hands of Juan Aguilar, by a decision in ten, and had a second and third fight with Aguilar, of which the second ended in a first round no contest, and the second in another Aguilar decision win. He began his five fight rivalry with Jorge Ahumada knocking Ahumada out in five rounds, and lost the Argentine Light Heavyweight title with a twelve-round decision defeat against Avenamar Peralta.

He and Peralta had an immediate, non-title rematch in 1971, and Galíndez won by a ten-round decision. 1971 was a year of rematches for Galíndez, the only new boxer he met that year being Pedro Rimovsky, and he too, had a rematch with Galíndez before that year was over. He lost to Ahumada in the second of the five fights between them, by a decision in Mendoza, Argentina, then beat him in fight three by a knockout in nine, and in fight four by a knockout in six, both the third and fourth fight being held in Buenos Aires. He and Rimovsky had a first round no contest in their first bout, and drew over the ten round distance in the rematch, and then Galíndez had two more fights with Peralta, losing by a knockout in nine and a decision in 10.

In 1973, Galíndez had eight fights, winning seven and drawing one. He was finally able to obtain Argentina's Light Heavyweight title, by beating Aguilar by a decision in twelve. He beat Aguilar once again, by a knockout in six, and he also beat Eddie Owens, Eddie Duncan and Raul Loyola, the latter being beaten twice, one time defending his Argentine title.

He began 1974 with a step up in class, meeting former world title challenger Ray Anderson, beating him by a knockout in two. After six more consecutive wins, he was given his first shot at a world title, facing Len Hutchins for the WBA's vacant world Light Heavyweight championship. Galíndez then joined Torres and Rondon as the only Hispanic Light Heavyweight world champions in history, and Carlos Monzón as the only Argentine world champions of that era, with a TKO of Hutchins in the thirteenth round to become the WBA's world Light Heavyweight champion.

Galíndez, who never fought outside Argentina before becoming a world champion, became a traveling fighter after that. After he beat Johnny Griffin in Buenos Aires by knockout in six in a non-title bout, it was off to South Africa, for his first international fight, which was, at the same time, his first world title defense. He beat Pierre Fourie there by a decision. Next was Las Vegas, for his first fight in the United States, another non title affair. He knocked out Ray Elson in eight there. Next stop was the Madison Square Garden in New York, where he and arch-rival Ahumada met for a fifth time, this time with the world title on the line. After beating Ahumada by a decision in 15, Galíndez returned to South Africa, where he once again beat Fourie by decision in 15.

1976 saw a trip to Norway, where he beat Harald Skog by a knockout in three to retain the title, and to Denmark, where he beat Jesse Burnett by a decision in ten in a non tite affair. Then came a third trip to South Africa, where he knocked out challenger Richie Kates in the 15th and last round, and, after a fight with Billy Douglas in Buenos Aires, (a win by decision in ten) he found himself in South Africa once again, where he beat Kosie Smith by a decision in fifteen to once again, retain the title.

After beginning 1977 by beating Guillermo Aquirrezabala by a knockout in four in Mendoza, he and Kates had a rematch in Rome, Italy, where Galíndez once again beat Kates by decision over 15. Next, the Argentine champion and challenger Yaqui López faced-off in a 15-round title bout, once again in Italy, and Galíndez retained the title by a decision in Rome. Galíndez' last fight of '77 took him to Italy for a third time, and he beat future world champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad (then Eddie Gregory) by a decision in fifteen.

In 1978, Galíndez went to Italy again, retaining the title with a fifteen-round decision in a rematch with Lopez, and then he made a series of non-title bouts in Argentina before he went on the road again, this time losing his title to Mike Rossman by a knockout in 13, in the same undercard where Muhammad Ali recovered the world Heavyweight title for the third time by beating Leon Spinks at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

After his first fight in 1979, beating Roberto Aguilar by a knockout in six back home, he and Rossman were supposed to have a rematch in February of that year, but Galíndez refused to fight, arguing that the judges selected for the rematch would probably favor Rossman. However, the rematch did come off later that year, and Galíndez recovered the world championship, once again in New Orleans, knocking Rossman out in 10 rounds. This time, however, he wouldn't last long as king of the Light Heavyweights, and he lost the title in his first defense, by a knockout in 11 to Marvin Johnson, a boxer who would later join Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson and Carlos De León among others as one of the few boxers to be world champions three times in the same category. The fight with Johnson also took place in New Orleans.

He had a boxing record of 52 wins, 9 losses and 4 draws with 2 no contests, and 34 wins by knockout. He successfully defended the WBA world light heavyweight title ten times against seven boxers.

In 2002, Galíndez was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Death

After losing a rematch with Burnett in 1980 by a decision in twelve in Anaheim, California, Galíndez was forced to retire because of two operations to repair his detached retinas, and then he tried to pursue his other dream of becoming a stock-car race driver. On 25 October of that year, he participated in what would be his first and last Turismo Carretera race, as a co-driver. After a mechanical failure shortly after the start of the race, Galíndez and his driver Antonio Lizeviche headed towards the pits, walking alongside the road. A car of another competitor lost control and hit Galíndez and Lizeviche, killing them on the spot.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Professional boxing record

Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
70	Template:No2Loss	55–9–4 Template:Small	Jesse Burnett	UD	12	Jun 14, 1980	Template:Small
69	Template:No2Loss	55–8–4 Template:Small	Marvin Johnson	KO	11 (15), Template:Small	Nov 30, 1979	Template:Small	Template:Small
68	Template:Yes2Win	55–7–4 Template:Small	Mike Rossman	RTD	9 (15), Template:Small	Apr 14, 1979	Template:Small	Template:Small
67	Template:Yes2Win	54–7–4 Template:Small	Roberto Aguilar	RTD	8 (10)	Mar 9, 1979	Template:Small
66	Template:No2Loss	53–7–4 Template:Small	Mike Rossman	TKO	13 (15), Template:Small	Sep 15, 1978	Template:Small	Template:Small
65	Template:Yes2Win	53–6–4 Template:Small	Marcos Antonio Tosto	KO	6 (10)	Aug 19, 1978	Template:Small
64	Template:Yes2Win	52–6–4 Template:Small	Waldemar de Oliveira	KO	9 (10)	Jul 8, 1978	Template:Small
63	Template:Yes2Win	51–6–4 Template:Small	Juan Antonio Musladino	KO	9 (10)	Jun 16, 1978	Template:Small
62	Template:Yes2Win	50–6–4 Template:Small	Yaqui López	UD	15	May 6, 1978	Template:Small	Template:Small
61	Template:Yes2Win	49–6–4 Template:Small	Ramon Reinaldo Cerrezuela	PTS	10	Apr 8, 1978	Template:Small
60	Template:Yes2Win	48–6–4 Template:Small	Eddie Mustafa Muhammad	UD	15	Nov 19, 1977	Template:Small	Template:Small
59	Template:Yes2Win	47–6–4 Template:Small	Yaqui López	UD	15	Sep 17, 1977	Template:Small	Template:Small
58	Template:Yes2Win	46–6–4 Template:Small	Ritchie Kates	UD	15	Jun 18, 1977	Template:Small	Template:Small
57	Template:Yes2Win	45–6–4 Template:Small	Guillermo Aguirrezabala	KO	4 (10)	Apr 6, 1977	Template:Small
56	Template:Yes2Win	44–6–4 Template:Small	Kosie Smith	UD	15	Oct 5, 1976	Template:Small	Template:Small
55	Template:Yes2Win	43–6–4 Template:Small	Billy Douglas	UD	10	Aug 21, 1976	Template:Small
54	Template:Yes2Win	42–6–4 Template:Small	Richie Kates	KO	15 (15), Template:Small	May 22, 1976	Template:Small	Template:Small
53	Template:Yes2Win	41–6–4 Template:Small	Jesse Burnett	MD	10	Apr 8, 1976	Template:Small
52	Template:Yes2Win	40–6–4 Template:Small	Harald Skog	KO	3 (15), Template:Small	Mar 28, 1976	Template:Small	Template:Small
51	Template:Yes2Win	39–6–4 Template:Small	Pierre Fourie	SD	15	Sep 13, 1975	Template:Small	Template:Small
50	Template:Yes2Win	38–6–4 Template:Small	Jorge Ahumada	UD	15	Jun 30, 1975	Template:Small	Template:Small
49	Template:Yes2Win	37–6–4 Template:Small	Ray Elson	TKO	8 (10), Template:Small	May 16, 1975	Template:Small
48	Template:Yes2Win	36–6–4 Template:Small	Pierre Fourie	UD	15	Apr 7, 1975	Template:Small	Template:Small
47	Template:Yes2Win	35–6–4 Template:Small	Johnny Griffin	KO	6 (10)	Feb 15, 1975	Template:Small
46	Template:Yes2Win	34–6–4 Template:Small	Len Hutchins	RTD	12 (15), Template:Small	Dec 7, 1974	Template:Small	Template:Small
45	Template:Yes2Win	33–6–4 Template:Small	Domingo Silveira	KO	4 (10)	Oct 5, 1974	Template:Small
44	Template:Yes2Win	32–6–4 Template:Small	Angel Oquendo	PTS	10	Sep 14, 1974	Template:Small
43	Template:Yes2Win	31–6–4 Template:Small	Domingo Silveira	KO	5 (10)	Sep 1, 1974	Template:Small
42	Template:Yes2Win	30–6–4 Template:Small	Domingo Silveira	KO	4 (10)	Jul 12, 1974	Template:Small
41	Template:Yes2Win	29–6–4 Template:Small	Jose Gonzalez	UD	10	Jun 8, 1974	Template:Small
40	Template:Yes2Win	28–6–4 Template:Small	Ruben Macario Gonzalez	KO	3 (10)	Apr 5, 1974	Template:Small
39	Template:Yes2Win	27–6–4 Template:Small	Ray Anderson	KO	2 (10), Template:Small	Feb 16, 1974	Template:Small
38	Template:Yes2Win	26–6–4 Template:Small	Eddie Duncan	KO	2 (10)	Dec 8, 1973	Template:Small
37	Template:Yes2Win	25–6–4 Template:Small	Raul Arturo Loyola	TKO	8 (10)	Nov 10, 1973	Template:Small
36	Template:Yes2Win	24–6–4 Template:Small	Raul Arturo Loyola	PTS	12	Sep 7, 1973	Template:Small	Template:Small
35	Template:Yes2Win	23–6–4 Template:Small	Juan Aguilar	KO	6 (10)	Aug 10, 1973	Template:Small
34	Template:Yes2Win	22–6–4 Template:Small	Karl Zurheide	KO	2 (10)	Jul 14, 1973	Template:Small
33	Template:Yes2Win	21–6–4 Template:Small	Eddie Owens	KO	3 (10)	May 12, 1973	Template:Small
32	Template:Yes2Win	20–6–4 Template:Small	Juan Aguilar	PTS	12	Apr 14, 1973	Template:Small	Template:Small
31	Template:Yes2Win	19–6–4 Template:Small	Ruben Macario Gonzalez	KO	3 (10)	Jan 29, 1973	Template:Small
30	Template:DrawDraw	18–6–4 Template:Small	Juan Aguilar	PTS	10	Dec 15, 1972	Template:Small
29	Template:Yes2Win	18–6–3 Template:Small	Oscar Wondryk	KO	7 (10)	Nov 10, 1972	Template:Small
28	Template:Yes2Win	17–6–3 Template:Small	Avenamar Peralta	PTS	12	Oct 7, 1972	Template:Small	Template:Small
27	Template:Yes2Win	16–6–3 Template:Small	Avenamar Peralta	PTS	12	Sep 2, 1972	Template:Small	Template:Small
26	Template:Yes2Win	15–6–3 Template:Small	Adolfo Jorge Cardozo	RTD	4 (10)	Aug 19, 1972	Template:Small
25	Template:Yes2Win	14–6–3 Template:Small	Juan Aguilar	PTS	12	Jul 22, 1972	Template:Small	Template:Small
24	Template:Yes2Win	13–6–3 Template:Small	Eddie Jones	PTS	10	May 6, 1972	Template:Small
23	Template:Yes2Win	12–6–3 Template:Small	Carlos A. Santagada	RTD	8 (10)	Jan 22, 1972	Template:Small
22	Template:No2Loss	11–6–3 Template:Small	Avenamar Peralta	PTS	10	Dec 18, 1971	Template:Small
21	Template:Yes2Win	11–5–3 Template:Small	Juan Aguilar	PTS	10	Nov 20, 1971	Template:Small
20	Template:Yes2Win	10–5–3 Template:Small	Jorge Ahumada	KO	6 (10)	Oct 30, 1971	Template:Small
19	Template:No2Loss	9–5–3 Template:Small	Avenamar Peralta	TKO	9 (10)	Sep 11, 1971	Template:Small
18	Template:Yes2Win	9–4–3 Template:Small	Jorge Ahumada	KO	9 (10)	Jul 31, 1971	Template:Small
17	Template:DrawDraw	8–4–3 Template:Small	Pedro Rimovsky	PTS	10	Jun 12, 1971	Template:Small
16	Template:No2Loss	8–4–2 Template:Small	Jorge Ahumada	PTS	10	May 24, 1971	Template:Small
15	NC	8–3–2 Template:Small	Pedro Rimovsky	NC	1 (10)	Apr 7, 1971	Template:Small
14	Template:Yes2Win	8–3–2 Template:Small	Avenamar Peralta	PTS	10	Jan 9, 1971	Template:Small
13	Template:No2Loss	7–3–2 Template:Small	Avenamar Peralta	PTS	12	Nov 28, 1970	Template:Small	Template:Small
12	Template:No2Loss	7–2–2 Template:Small	Juan Aguilar	PTS	10	Sep 18, 1970	Template:Small
11	Template:Abbr	7–1–2 Template:Small	Juan Aguilar	NC	1 (10)	Aug 14, 1970	Template:Small
10	Template:Yes2Win	7–1–2	Jorge Ahumada	KO	5 (10)	Jul 22, 1970	Template:Small
9	Template:DrawDraw	6–1–2	Juan Aguilar	PTS	10	Jun 24, 1970	Template:Small
8	Template:Yes2Win	6–1–1	Alfredo Segura	KO	3 (10)	May 20, 1970	Template:Small
7	Template:Yes2Win	5–1–1	Ramon Reinaldo Cerrezuela	TKO	9 (10)	May 9, 1970	Template:Small
6	Template:No2Loss	4–1–1	Juan Aguilar	PTS	10	Apr 8, 1970	Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2Win	4–0–1	Ramon Rocha	KO	9 (10)	Mar 13, 1970	Template:Small
4	Template:Yes2Win	3–0–1	Adolfo Jorge Cardozo	KO	5 (6)	Jan 17, 1970	Template:Small
3	Template:DrawDraw	2–0–1	Adolfo Cejas	PTS	10	Aug 16, 1969	Template:Small
2	Template:Yes2Win	2–0	Ruperto Robledo	KO	3 (6)	Jun 28, 1969	Template:Small
1	Template:Yes2Win	1–0	Ramon Ruiz	KO	4 (6)	May 10, 1969	Template:Small

External links

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